SolidWorks

SolidWorks

The SolidWorks interface, showing feature based history dependent modeling.
Developer(s)	Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp.
Stable release	SolidWorks 2011 SP5 / Oct 10, 2011[1]
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Type	3D computer graphics
License	Proprietary
Website	www.SolidWorks.com

SolidWorks is a 3D mechanical CAD (computer-aided design) program that runs on Microsoft Windows and is being developed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, S. A. (Vélizy, France). SolidWorks is currently used by over 1.3 million engineers and designers at more than 130,000 companies worldwide. FY2009 revenue for SolidWorks, was 366 million dollars.^[2]

History

SolidWorks Corporation was founded in December 1993 by Jon Hirschtick with headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA ^{[3] [4]}, who recruited a team of engineers to build a company that developed 3D CAD software that was easy-to-use, affordable and available on the Windows desktop, with its headquarters at Concord, Massachusetts, and released its first product, SolidWorks 95, in 1995. SolidWorks currently markets several versions of the SolidWorks CAD software in addition to eDrawings, a collaboration tool, and DraftSight, a 2D CAD product. In 1997 Dassault Systèmes, best known for its CATIA CAD software, acquired the company and currently owns 100% of its shares. SolidWorks was headed by John McEleney from 2001 to July 2007 and Jeff Ray from 2007 to January 2011. The current CEO is Bertrand Sicot.

Release history

Name/Version	Version History Value	Release Date
SolidWorks 95	44	1995
SolidWorks 96	243	1996
SolidWorks 97	483	1996
SolidWorks 97Plus	629	1997
SolidWorks 98	817	1997
SolidWorks 98Plus	1008	1998
SolidWorks 99	1137	1998
SolidWorks 2000	1500	1999
SolidWorks 2001	1750	2000
SolidWorks 2001Plus	1950	2001
SolidWorks 2003	2200	2002
SolidWorks 2004	2500	2003
SolidWorks 2005	2800	2004
SolidWorks 2006	3100	2005
SolidWorks 2007	3400	2006
SolidWorks 2008	3800	July 1, 2007
SolidWorks 2009	4100	January 28, 2008
SolidWorks 2010	4400	December 9, 2009
SolidWorks 2011	4700	June 17, 2010
SolidWorks 2012	5000	Sept, 2011

Market

DS Solidworks Corp. has sold over a million licenses of SolidWorks worldwide.^[5] This includes a large proportion of educational licenses. The Sheffield Telegraph comments that Solidworks is the world's most popular CAD software.^[6] Its user base ranges from individuals to large corporations, and covers a very wide cross-section of manufacturing market segments. Commercial sales are made through an indirect channel, which includes dealers and partners throughout the world. Directly competitive products to SolidWorks include Creo Elements/Pro, Solid Edge, and Autodesk Inventor. SolidWorks also partners with third party developers to add functionality in niche market applications like finite element analysis, circuit layout, tolerance checking, etc. SolidWorks has also licensed it's 3D modeling capabilities to other CAD software vendors, notably ANVIL.^[7]

Modeling methodology

screen shot captured from a SolidWorks top-down design approach.

SolidWorks is a Parasolid-based solid modeler, and utilizes a parametric feature-based approach to create models and assemblies.

Parameters refer to constraints whose values determine the shape or geometry of the model or assembly. Parameters can be either numeric parameters, such as line lengths or circle diameters, or geometric parameters, such as tangent, parallel, concentric, horizontal or vertical, etc. Numeric parameters can be associated with each other through the use of relations, which allows them to capture design intent.

Design intent is how the creator of the part wants it to respond to changes and updates. For example, you would want the hole at the top of a beverage can to stay at the top surface, regardless of the height or size of the can. SolidWorks allows you to specify that the hole is a feature on the top surface, and will then honor your design intent no matter what the height you later gave to the can.

Features refer to the building blocks of the part. They are the shapes and operations that construct the part. Shape-based features typically begin with a 2D or 3D sketch of shapes such as bosses, holes, slots, etc. This shape is then extruded or cut to add or remove material from the part. Operation-based features are not sketch-based, and include features such as fillets, chamfers, shells, applying draft to the faces of a part, etc.

screen shot captured from a SolidWorks top-down design approach.

Building a model in SolidWorks usually starts with a 2D sketch (although 3D sketches are available for power users). The sketch consists of geometry such as points, lines, arcs, conics (except the hyperbola), and splines. Dimensions are added to the sketch to define the size and location of the geometry. Relations are used to define attributes such as tangency, parallelism, perpendicularity, and concentricity. The parametric nature of SolidWorks means that the dimensions and relations drive the geometry, not the other way around. The dimensions in the sketch can be controlled independently, or by relationships to other parameters inside or outside of the sketch.

In an assembly, the analog to sketch relations are mates. Just as sketch relations define conditions such as tangency, parallelism, and concentricity with respect to sketch geometry, assembly mates define equivalent relations with respect to the individual parts or components, allowing the easy construction of assemblies. SolidWorks also includes additional advanced mating features such as gear and cam follower mates, which allow modeled gear assemblies to accurately reproduce the rotational movement of an actual gear train.

Finally, drawings can be created either from parts or assemblies. Views are automatically generated from the solid model, and notes, dimensions and tolerances can then be easily added to the drawing as needed. The drawing module includes most paper sizes and standards (ANSI, ISO, DIN, GOST, JIS, BSI and SAC).

Products

3D mechanical design applications

SolidWorks Standard

SolidWorks Professional

SolidWorks Premium provides a suite of product development tools mechanical design, design verification, data management, and communication tools. SolidWorks Premium includes all of the capabilities of SolidWorks Professional as well as routing and analysis tools, including SolidWorks Routing, SolidWorks Simulation, and SolidWorks Motion.

SolidWorks Education Edition Provides the same design functionality but is configured and packaged for engineering and industrial design students.

Design validation tools

SolidWorks Simulation is a design validation tool that shows engineers how their designs will behave as physical objects.

SolidWorks Motion is a virtual prototyping tool that provides motion simulation capabilities to ensure designs function properly.

SolidWorks Flow Simulation is a tool that tests fluid-flow simulation and thermal analysis so designers can conduct tests on virtual prototypes.

SolidWorks Simulation Premium is a design validation tool that caters to designers without engineering background.

SolidWorks Sustainability is a product that measures the environmental impact of designs while they are modeled in SolidWorks.

Product data management tools

SolidWorks Workgroup PDM is a PDM tool that allows SolidWorks users operating in teams of 10 members or less to work on designs concurrently. With SolidWorks PDM Workgroup, designers can search, revise, and vault CAD data while maintaining an accurate design history.

SolidWorks Enterprise PDM

Design communication and collaboration tools

eDrawings Professional An e-mail-enabled communication tool for reviewing 2D and 3D product design data across the extended product development team. eDrawings generates accurate representations of DWGgateway is a free data translation tool that enables any AutoCAD software user to open and edit any DWG file, regardless of the version of AutoCAD it was made in.

SolidWorks Viewer is a free plug-in for viewing SolidWorks parts, assemblies, and drawings.

CAD productivity tools

SolidWorks Toolbox is a library of parts that uses "Smart Part" Technology to automatically select fasteners and assemble them in the desired sequence.

SolidWorks Utilities is software that lets designers find differences between two versions of the same part, or locate, modify, and suppress features within a model.

FeatureWorks is feature recognition software that lets designers make changes to static geometric data, increasing the value of translated files. With FeatureWorks, designers can preserve or introduce new design intent when bringing 3D models created in other software into the SolidWorks environment.

Specialty design tools

SolidWorks Routing

MoldflowXpress is a mold design validation tool that was built into a solid modeling environment. It enables mold designers to quickly and easily validate whether a plastic injection-molded part can be filled.

SolidWorks MoldBase is a catalog of standard mold base assemblies and components. The package enables designers to generate a completely assembled mold base.

Print3D is a 3D printing feature that allows users to convert their 3D CAD model to an .STL file and then have it sent to specialty manufacturers for quote. The .STL files can be used to generate an instant binding quoted using the Quickquote technology.

DriveWorks Xpress DriveWorksXpress is rules-based design automation tool for engineers.

Create multiple variations of parts, assemblies and drawings quickly and accurately.

File format

SolidWorks files use the Microsoft Structured Storage file format. This means that there are various files embedded within each SLDDRW (drawing files), SLDPRT (part files), SLDASM (assembly files) file, including preview bitmaps and metadata sub-files. Various third-party tools (see COM Structured storage) can be used to extract these sub-files, although the subfiles in many cases use proprietary binary file formats.

Solidworks 2010 SP3.1 opens/saves following file formats:

• SolidWorks Files (*.sldprt, *.sldasm, *.slddrw),
• Part Files (*.prt, *.sldprt),
• Assembly Files (*.asm, *.sldasm),
• Drawing Files (*.drw, *.slddrw),
• DXF (*.dxf), DWG (*.dwg),
• Adobe Photoshop Files (*.psd),
• Adobe Illustrator Files (*.ai),
• Lib Feat Part (*.lfp, *sldlfp),
• Template (*.prtdot, *.asmdot, *.drwdot),
• Parasolid (*.x_t, *.x_b, *.smt_txt, *xmt_bin),
• IGES (*.igs, *.iges),
• STEP AP203/214 (*.step, *.stp),
• ACIS (*.sat), VDAFS (*.vda),
• VRML (*.wrl), STL (*.stl),
• Catia Graphics (*.cgr),
• ProEngineer Part (*.prt, *.prt.*, *.xpr),
• ProEngineer Assembly (*.asm, *.asm.*, *.xas),
• UGII (*.prt),
• Autodesk Inventor Part (*.ipt),
• Autodesk Assembly (*.iam),
• Solid Edge Part (*.par, *.psm),
• Solid Edge Assembly (*.asm),
• CADKEY (*.prt, *.ckd),
• Add-ins (*.dll),
• IDF (*.emn, *.brd, *.bdf, *idb).

A TransMagic plug-in for SolidWorks is available that expands its import/export capability via native CAD kernels.

See also

• Associative engine
• List of computer-aided design editors for architecture, engineering and construction

References

1. ^ "Technical Alerts & News". SolidWorks. Oct 10, 2011. http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/CustomerBulletins.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
2. ^ SolidWorks Fact Sheet, March 2010
3. ^ Solidworks Company History. Solidworks Official Website
4. ^ Solidworks Company Information. Solidworks Official Website
5. ^ "Thanks for helping us reach our millionth license!". SolidWorks. April 30, 2009. http://www.solidworks.com/sw/oml/millionth_license.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-12. 
6. ^ "Solid finds solution in business park switch". The Sheffield Telegraph. December 10, 2009. http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/business/Solid-finds-solution-in-business.5898550.jp. Retrieved 2010-02-15. 
7. ^ [http://www.anvilmcs.com/pages/sm.htm ""ANVIL EXPRESS® SolidWorks® Connectivity""]. MCS ANVIL. September 2009. http://www.anvilmcs.com/pages/sm.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-15. 

External links

• Official website